People's Democracy

Maoist-TMC Violence in West Midnapur Village

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) issued the following statement January 8, 2011.

THE tragic loss of lives and injuries to several in the Netai village under Binpur block, West Midnapur district of West Bengal, on January 7 is a result of the violent politics indulged in by the Maoist-Trinamul combine. It should be recalled that earlier on December 16, 2010 when seven workers including a woman gram pradhan of Forward Bloc were brutally murdered in Jhalda in the Purulia district by Maoists, the TMC did not even issue a statement to condemn the killings, showing their complicity in the crime. This combine has sought to drive out Left cadre from the Jangal Mahal area, using brutal methods in which over 122 tribal activists of the CPI(M) have been killed, hundreds of homes burnt and thousands driven out of the area. People’s resistance in many areas has led to an improvement in the situation which is not to the liking of this combine. It is reported that on January 7, in a pre-planned move, efforts were made to violently attack those families of the CPI(M) who had returned to the village and those waiting in the displaced peoples camp to return, resulting in the violence in which precious lives  were lost.

It is essential for the Home Minister Shri Chidambaram, instead of issuing partisan statements, to ensure that his cabinet colleague, Railway Minister Mamta Banerjee, break her party’s links with the Maoists which is the single biggest factor responsible for the present situation.